1864 Token DeWitt-GMcC-1864-37 G.B. McClellan-Copper Campaign

Coin Details

Description

This copper campaign token for George B. McClellan from the 1864 election is cataloged as DeWitt GMcC-1864-37, a high catalog number within the McClellan series. The extensive numbering of McClellan varieties — reaching at least 37 distinct types plus the large 52mm medal — documents a Democratic campaign material operation that, while smaller than the Republican effort, was substantial in its own right. McClellan's supporters organized campaign clubs, published newspapers, and distributed tokens and medals through Democratic party infrastructure. The copper composition of this high-numbered variety indicates a limited production run. McClellan's 1864 campaign is historically significant not only for its content but for the precedent it set — the peaceful conduct of a presidential election during a civil war demonstrated the resilience of American democratic institutions under extreme stress. Lincoln himself believed he would lose the August 1864 election and prepared a memorandum pledging to cooperate with the incoming president to save the Union before the inauguration, a document that revealed the depth of his commitment to democratic process.

Rarity Notes

Copper campaign token from 1864. DeWitt GMcC-1864-37. High catalog number indicates limited production. Among the scarcer McClellan varieties.

Cross References

PCGS #592047; DeWitt GMcC-1864-37; 1864 Presidential Election; George B. McClellan